I! Cleaner!-Chapter 1033 - 952: The Importance of Reputation

"There's no way. Justice only matters to those who believe in it. For someone like him, it's useless."

The old King, with his orange skin and crane-like hair, glanced at Prince Vernon who knelt before him and sighed lowly, his expression somewhat helpless:

"Stop kneeling. You did nothing wrong. From any perspective, Prince Leon is someone we can't afford to provoke, so letting him be is fine."

"But I still… Alas…"

Prince Vernon lowered his head upon hearing this, feeling a bit discouraged, and said:

"Father, I've asked the guards around me and the priests outside the You Sui Sanctuary. Everyone said it was me who led him in, and I lost consciousness while talking to him, so it's most likely he manipulated me!

As for his claim that he was wronged, saying it was actually Aunt Olivia who did it, that's absolute nonsense! Aunt Olivia might be pretty reckless, but she's not insane. How could she possibly overturn the entire You Sui Sanctuary?"

"…"

Aunt Olivia... That's not guaranteed!

She is particularly good to children, she doesn't bully you and even plays with you, so you younger ones view her with rose-tinted glasses. Only us older ones know how much trouble your Aunt Olivia could cause back in the day…

"Alright, get up quickly!"

Recalling the terrifying experiences dominated by Aunt Olivia, the old King couldn't help but shiver. He then raised the royal scepter in his hand and forcefully tapped Prince Vernon's thigh, his expression turning unpleasant as he said:

"Let's leave the matter of the You Sui Sanctuary as it is. We can't handle Prince Leon, and we still have to rely on him to investigate the 'low fever syndrome' and the change in hair color. Just pretend you never saw him today. To someone like him, our 'justice' holds no meaning.

As for you… Since you've had contact with him today, did he mention to you how he's planning to investigate the low fever syndrome?"

"I don't think he did…"

After carefully recalling his conversation with Leon, Prince Vernon shook his head and said:

"He didn't mention the issue of low fever syndrome or why everyone's hair color has changed. He only asked about Aunt Olivia's matter… Oh, besides Aunt Olivia, most of his questions were about our Carleighwen Kingdom."

Questions about the Kingdom?

The old King furrowed his brow upon hearing this, then somewhat puzzled, he pressed on:

"What all did he ask?"

"Mainly about policies like codes, regulations, then about the situation with major nobles and big merchants, as well as things like commodity prices, specialties, transportation planning, urban distribution, industrial categories, but I don't usually pay much attention to these, so I couldn't answer much… Oh right!" 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

After frowning and thinking for a moment, Prince Vernon added:

"Realizing I couldn't answer those questions, knowing I was only familiar with the royal family's situation, he changed the topic, inquiring about who has the eligibility to inherit the throne and the current succession order."

"What?!!!"

The old King's eyes widened upon hearing this, he then forcefully tapped his royal scepter, his face unusually grim as he demanded:

"Did he really ask you that?"

"Ah? He really did."

"After asking about the succession order, did he particularly focus on the eligible and attractive princesses?"

"Ah?"

A bit dazed by the old King's questions, Prince Vernon blinked and uncertainly replied:

"Well… I didn't pay much attention, but after he asked for the names of the successors, he did specifically inquire about the ages of a few."

"He only asked about the women's ages, not the men's, right?"

"I think… Yes?"

It's over, this time it's truly over!

Upon hearing Prince Vernon's answer, the old King suddenly felt a rush of darkness before his eyes, feeling like a rock was wedged in his chest, making it difficult to breathe.

And then, as the terrified Prince Vernon rushed over, bringing two attendants to help pat his chest and back, managing to get his breath back, the first thing the old King did when he regained his composure was to pick up his cane… the royal scepter, and start beating Prince Vernon furiously.

"You… cough cough cough cough… you damned fool! You just answer whatever he asks you? Do you not have a brain?"

"Oh no!"

Completely unprepared for the old King's sudden attack, Prince Vernon, caught off guard, immediately had a bright red bump swell up on his forehead.

"Father!"

Quickly letting out a cry, Prince Vernon, who was inexplicably beaten, hurriedly defended against the old King's chaotic cane strikes while reproaching full of grievance:

"Wasn't it you who told me… Argh! Didn't you say that Prince Leon is someone we can't provoke, and whatever he wants, we should try to meet his demands? I just answered a few of his questions, it's not like any of it had to be kept secret."

"You… cough cough… you idiot!"

Having performed a whole set of discipline with his cane, the old King's face turned as red as a boiled crab, even his wrinkles seemed to smooth out a bit. He stopped his assault, gasped heavily, then gritted his teeth and angrily scolded:

"What kind of questions were those? What you gave him weren't answers, but our throne and your brother's!"

"Ah?"

"You fool! I'm asking you! Before your brother went to investigate the Luminous Church, he specifically handed you those files, didn't you finish reading them?"

"Well…"

Upon hearing this, Prince Vernon blinked, instinctively stepping back out of the old King's scepter striking range, then spoke somewhat sheepishly:

"I didn't not finish… It's just… I haven't read much…"

That's basically not finished!

"Father, it's not that I didn't want to read, it's that the time was too tight, and the files my brother gave were too thick…"

Seeing the old King's eyes bulging, almost wanting to bite him, Prince Vernon hurriedly defended:

"You know how serious my brother is with his work. The files he sent piled up to three fists thick! I stayed up at home for two nights, my eyes blurred before I got through a third… Father, could you tell me about Prince Leon?"

"Alas!!!"

Looking at his still clueless son who didn't realize the gravity of the situation, the old King couldn't help but let out a heavy sigh, then leaned back on his throne, weakly saying:

"Since he's already set his sights on us, it's too late to say anything now… You don't need to know much, just remember he's a deviant with a habit of 'collecting' princesses and helps 'collected' princesses seize the throne."

"Ah? Something like that?!!!"

"Heh, this has happened several times already! Crolock, Ashito, Mifara… You'll see!"

Recalling the intelligence he saw in the files, the old King stared blankly at the ceiling, shuddering and murmuring:

"If I'm not mistaken, it won't be long before he brings your sister or cousin here to force me to step down…"

"Your Majesty!"

Midway through the old King's speech, an attendant suddenly entered from outside the hall, looking somewhat panicked as he reported loudly:

"Prince Leon has escaped from prison! He has brought Princess Aerial, Princess Cristana, and Princess Ambes to the main hall, requesting to see you!"